Written Answers Wednesday 13 January 2010

Scottish Executive

Cities

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what economic benefits Perth will receive if it obtains legal city status.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has not conducted any such economic impact assessment but believes that city status would be an asset for Perth.

Communities

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the funding allocated to Clackmannanshire and Stirling in round three of the CashBack for Communities programme and what action will be taken in these areas to encourage organisations to apply for funding in round four.

Fergus Ewing: To date, the Scottish Government has committed to invest over £13 million in the CashBack for Communities programme, which includes diversionary and participatory projects for young people across Scotland.

  £4 million of this investment has been allocated to Youthlink Scotland. This includes the latest round of funding (£1 million) which closed for applications on 31 October 2009. Funding distributed through the Youthlink Scotland local youth project grant scheme is recorded by local authority.

  The following successful applicants in Clackmannanshire and Stirling have been awarded funding from Youthlink round three:

  

Clackmannanshire


Clackmannanshire Youth Council
£3,041


The Margaret J Gordon Art and Craft Trust
£3,090


15 Below Snow Sports Club
£1,100


The Margaret J Gordon Art and Craft Trust
£2,140


Stirling


Exit Youth Group
£3,432


Plus
£4,080


Youth Services, Stirling Council
£7,264



  The assessment of Youthlink round three included independent assessment panels in all local authorities. The panels consisted of: local authority representatives (community learning and development and community safety in particular); the voluntary sector, and trained young people. These panels provided independent local knowledge to judge applications for the area.

  Youthlink Scotland make a huge effort to ensure youth organisations in all communities are aware of available funding through CashBack. Youthlink has three main networks: the members network, the policy forum and VOCOG (Voluntary Organisation Chief Officers Group). These networks cover areas like: local authorities, voluntary organisations, schools, youth justice, the Scottish Youth Parliament and youth work. Passing the information through these networks alerts organisations about the funding.

  Encouragement and help is also provided for organisations to complete the funding application from Youthlink. Local surgeries have been set up to guide applicants through the process and offer advice on what information should be included in an application.

Communities

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the proposed Scottish-Islamic Foundation Etisal conference will take place.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27917 on 29 October 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Council Tax

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the council tax banding appeals process.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has no plans to review the council tax banding appeals process.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what mental health support is given to the 75% of drug users estimated to have a mental health problem.

Fergus Ewing: The National Directory of Drug Treatment Services, maintained by Scottish Drugs Forum, lists 72 services who offer specific assistance to people with mental health problems.

  We continue to work with NHS boards, local authorities and their partners to ensure the best possible care and treatment for all.

  Our 2007 report Mind the Gaps - Making a Difference, which can be found in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. number 44565), focused on improving awareness of the needs of those with co-occurring mental health and substance misuse problems; improving support and service provision, and influencing positive supportive attitudes toward this care group. Forward action from the report has reflected these aims by promoting and encouraging joined-up local and other services with attention on prevention and recovery.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason drug-related deaths have risen by 36%, from 421 deaths in 2006 to 574 in 2008.

Fergus Ewing: The National Forum on Drug-related Deaths believe that the majority of deaths are amongst a high cohort of ageing drug users, who are in poor health due to a long history of drug misuse and where their tolerance levels are lower.

  From the end of this year, the National Drug-related Deaths database will give a better indication of the circumstances behind each death. This will help us to target key resources and ensure services are better able to meet the needs of these vulnerable individuals most at risk of dying.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many residential care beds there are for (a) drug and (b) alcohol treatment and recovery in services that include the provision of mental health services.

Fergus Ewing: Information on the number of drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities is not held centrally. However, information from the National Directory of Drug Treatment Services, maintained by the Scottish Drugs Forum, showed that 27 facilities currently offer residential places for rehabilitation. Of these, 16 facilities with 342 beds in total, have indicated that they offer services for clients with mental health problems. Services listed in the directory are primarily for the treatment of drugs though some facilities also treat clients for alcohol rehabilitation.

  In terms of alcohol rehabilitation facilities, this information is not held centrally. The Scottish Alcohol Needs Assessment report (published by the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams) mapped the number of publicly-funded alcohol treatment provision falling within tiers 2, 3 and 4 modalities of care as defined by Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers (The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, 2006). It identified 97 services in Scotland in 2006-07 as providing specialist alcohol interventions, of which 10 were residential agencies and the remainder (87) were community-based. The majority (59.4%) provided services for both drug and alcohol misusers and 37.5% provided exclusively alcohol services. The report did not provide a breakdown or services by individual health boards (just groups of health boards) or the number of beds available.

Energy Efficiency

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many private rented sector landlords have applied for Energy Saving Scotland small business loans.

Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29121 on 1 December 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Energy Efficiency

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households have applied to the free home insulation scheme, broken down by local authority area.

Alex Neil: As at 3 January 2010, the number of households by local authority area who have, or will receive, an energy efficiency report as a result of the home insulation scheme is as follows:

  

 Local Authority
 Energy Efficiency Report


 Angus
 1,603


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 1,837


 Dundee
 1,048


 Edinburgh
 2,788


 Fife
 2,951


 Glasgow
 2,690


 Highland
 1,145


 Orkney
 206


 South Lanarkshire
 753


 Stirling
 4,158


 Total
 19,179

Energy Efficiency

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households have applied to the free home insulation scheme, broken down by Scottish Parliament constituency.

Alex Neil: As at 3 January 2010, the number of households by parliamentary constituency who have, or will receive, an energy efficiency report as a result of the home insulation scheme is shown in the following table. It is not possible to provide a further breakdown between the multiple constituencies which form part of the Highland and Glasgow/South Lanarkshire local authority programmes.

  

 Parliamentary Constituency
 Local Authority
 Energy Efficiency Report


 Angus
 Angus
 1,603


 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross/Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
 Highland
 1,145


 Central Fife
 Fife
 2,951


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 1,837


 Dundee East
 Dundee
 1,048


 Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
 Edinburgh
 2,788


 Glasgow Cathcart/Glasgow Pollok/Glasgow Rutherglen
Glasgow (Cathcart/Pollok)
South Lanarkshire (Rutherglen)
 3,443


 Orkney
 Orkney
 206


 Stirling
 Stirling
 4,158


 Total
 
 19,179

Energy Efficiency

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for the installation of home insulation under the free home insulation scheme.

Alex Neil: Contracted suppliers for the home insulation scheme are obliged to fully complete the householder’s installation within 28 calendar days of the referral being passed to them and, apart from where the needs of the household prevent the supplier from doing so or other factors such as severe weather, installations are being completed comfortably within this timescale.

  Data which will allow for an accurate calculation of the average waiting time for the installation of insulation measures will be available shortly as the scheme develops.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency hospital admissions can be attributed to the recent cold weather conditions and what proportion was represented by individuals aged over 60.

Nicola Sturgeon: Official statistics relating to emergency admissions to acute general hospitals in NHSScotland are published as part of the quarterly update to the acute hospital care section of the Information Services Division’s (ISD) website http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3400.html .

  The next publication is scheduled for 30 March 2010, and will include high level statistics up to the quarter ending 31 December 2009 based on ISD(S)1 aggregate data returns.

  The subsequent publication is scheduled for 29 June 2010, and will include high level statistics up to the quarter ending 31 March 2010.

  Publication of annual hospital activity, national statistics up to the year ending 31 March 2010, is scheduled for 28 September 2010 as part of the annual update to the acute hospital care section of ISD’s website. These statistics will include detailed age and diagnosis specific information for emergency admissions based on SMR01 patient level discharge records.

  Whilst details of diagnoses on SMR01 records can be used to identify medical conditions likely to be related to cold weather, the data collection cannot attribute admissions due to prevailing cold weather per se.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the real-time data on infection rates by specialty is not available on the NHS web portal and whether it will list those specialties by hospital for which no data has been supplied.

Nicola Sturgeon: As acknowledged in the answer to the question S3W-29773 on 7 January 2010, the content and substance of each report held on NHS board websites has varied and has led to inconsistencies in the range of data being reported across NHS Scotland. The review of the structure and presentation of the HAI reporting template (HAIRT), currently being undertaken by a short-life working group led by NHS Scotland, is working to ensure consistency of reporting across all NHS boards. The revised HAIRT will be introduced from spring 2010 and will reinforce the requirement for specialty information to be included.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals were infected with Clostridium difficile during the period (a) December 2007 to December 2008 and (b) December 2008 to December 2009, broken down by hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information is not held centrally. Health Protection Scotland (HPS) collate and publish Clostridium difficile surveillance statistics by NHS board on a quarterly basis. HPS data for 2009 is available up to and including September 2009. The HPS report for the quarter ending December 2009 will be published in April 2010.

  Data for patients aged 65 and over in all healthcare settings for the periods January 2008 to December 2008 and January 2009 to September 2009 are as follows:

  

 NHS Board
 January 2008 to December 2008
 January 2009 to September 2009


 Ayrshire and Arran
 560
 335


 Borders
 115
 68


 Dumfries and Galloway
 170
 128


 Fife
 394
 98


 Forth Valley
 458
 116


 Grampian
 953
 513


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 1395
 532


 Highland
 150
 98


 Lanarkshire
 715
 214


 Lothian
 850
 495


 Orkney
 21
 21


 Shetland
 6
 1


 Tayside
 524
 328


 Western Isles
 14
 6


 National
 6,325
 2,953



  Since January 2009, all NHS boards have been publishing hospital level data on Clostridium difficile. This can be accessed at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland/19529/statistics/Local.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Care and Repair Working Group is still in existence and, if not, for what reason it was disbanded.

Alex Neil: The Care and Repair Working Group (CRWG) is no longer in existence. The group comprised of Scottish Government officials working with COSLA and the Care and Repair Forum Board. The decision was taken to disband CRWG as it was not considered representative of the range of stakeholders in the sector.

  The review of care and repair arrangements, carried out as part of the implementation of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, decided instead to focus on enhancement of the role of the national coordinating body, the Care and Repair Forum.

  The Scottish Government will continue to ensure that former CRWG members are involved in ongoing dialogue with members of the new board as required.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether drafting a national policy statement and developing a scheme of assistance, core care and repair services and a care and repair brand are to become the responsibility of a new national co-ordinating body.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government published Reviewing Care and Repair in Scotland 2009: Report of the findings of the review of Care and Repair on 17 August 2009. The review identified the development of a national policy statement as an important role for the national co-ordinating body.

  Local authorities are responsible for developing schemes of assistance under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. The Scottish Government underlined the role of care and repair services in statutory guidance issued to support the implementation of that act. The national co-ordinating body will wish to consider how best to continue to promote the contribution of care and repair services to schemes of assistance.

  It will also take a lead role in identifying and agreeing core services that all care and repair agencies should provide, and how these can be made available to users. The issue of a care and repair brand is linked to that of core services, and so the care and repair review also recommends that the national co-ordinating body act as steward of the brand on behalf of ministers.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been available to the care and repair scheme over the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Alex Neil: The funding available to local authorities between 2005-06 and 2009-10 for running costs for care and repair services is set out in the following table, rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.

  In financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, funding for care and repair was separately identified and ring fenced. Local authorities were allowed to add to these allocations from Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) to fund services.

  From 2008-09, the ring fencing was removed and an equivalent amount added to PSHG, split between local authorities on a pro rata basis, in line with PSHG allocations. This included a specific condition of grant to maintain care and repair services.

  

 Local Authority
 Ring-fenced Allocation
 Non-Ring-fenced Allocation
 Total


 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10
 


£m
£m
£m
£m
£m
£m


 Scotland
 2.335
 3.527
 2.447
 2.335
 2.335
 12.980


 Aberdeen City
 0.083
 0.166
 0.000
 0.097
 0.097
 0.442


 Aberdeenshire
 0.105
 0.105
 0.105
 0.042
 0.046
 0.403


 Angus
 0.088
 0.176
 0.029
 0.036
 0.037
 0.366


 Argyll and Bute
 0.110
 0.136
 0.099
 0.110
 0.106
 0.561


 Clackmannanshire
 0.057
 0.102
 0.061
 0.019
 0.018
 0.257


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0.125
 0.125
 0.125
 0.076
 0.075
 0.526


 Dundee City
 0.000
 0.000
 0.032
 0.076
 0.075
 0.183


 East Ayrshire
 0.043
 0.086
 0.050
 0.033
 0.034
 0.246


 East Dunbartonshire
 0.048
 0.096
 0.048
 0.027
 0.029
 0.248


 East Lothian
 0.093
 0.093
 0.182
 0.047
 0.046
 0.461


 East Renfrewshire
 0.030
 0.030
 0.120
 0.019
 0.021
 0.220


 Edinburgh, City of
 0.128
 0.128
 0.128
 0.243
 0.249
 0.875


 Eilean Siar
 0.147
 0.147
 0.147
 0.115
 0.109
 0.666


 Falkirk
 0.000
 0.000
 0.050
 0.035
 0.035
 0.120


 Fife
 0.081
 0.081
 0.096
 0.049
 0.056
 0.364


 Glasgow City
 0.134
 0.269
 0.000
 0.370
 0.368
 1.140


 Highland
 0.226
 0.453
 0.150
 0.151
 0.147
 1.127


 Inverclyde
 0.064
 0.064
 0.137
 0.042
 0.041
 0.348


 Midlothian
 0.000
 0.000
 0.025
 0.018
 0.018
 0.061


 Moray
 0.027
 0.027
 0.027
 0.044
 0.043
 0.167


 North Ayrshire
 0.096
 0.191
 0.020
 0.042
 0.042
 0.392


 North Lanarkshire
 0.126
 0.229
 0.126
 0.089
 0.091
 0.661


 Orkney Islands
 0.051
 0.052
 0.051
 0.039
 0.037
 0.231


 Perth and Kinross
 0.099
 0.198
 0.039
 0.061
 0.061
 0.458


 Renfrewshire
 0.038
 0.052
 0.034
 0.059
 0.061
 0.244


 Scottish Borders
 0.033
 0.067
 0.000
 0.044
 0.043
 0.188


 Shetland Islands
 0.000
 0.000
 0.050
 0.034
 0.032
 0.116


 South Ayrshire
 0.055
 0.110
 0.055
 0.040
 0.041
 0.302


 South Lanarkshire
 0.183
 0.218
 0.283
 0.166
 0.165
 1.015


 Stirling
 0.000
 0.000
 0.000
 0.041
 0.039
 0.080


 West Dunbartonshire
 0.000
 0.000
 0.114
 0.028
 0.028
 0.170


 West Lothian
 0.064
 0.127
 0.064
 0.042
 0.042
 0.339

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for the implementation of recommendations from the report, Review of Care and Repair Projects .

Alex Neil: There is no fixed timescale for the implementation of recommendations from the review. Additional funding from the Scottish Government to support the national co-ordinating body in the changeover and implementation of review findings is available for a period of two years.

  The national co-ordinating body will be responsible for devising a suitable work plan to take forward the recommendations.

  The success of the national co-ordinating body will be reviewed when that period is over, and the implementation of the Review of Care and Repair Projects is likely to be fundamental to this broader review.

Housing

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons Shetland Islands Council’s round one and two bids for new-build council home funding were unsuccessful.

Alex Neil: An expert group comprising COSLA, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO), a local government finance officer and the Scottish Government considered all applications against the agreed principles and criteria. The group provided an initial assessment of applications and their recommendations were shared and then discussed with COSLA’s Shared Services Board (for round one) and the Leadership Board (for round two). These bodies considered the advice and then formed an agreed position and recommendations which were considered by Scottish ministers in making a final decision.

  Applications were assessed against criteria relating to six overarching principles, as Parliament was informed in response to parliamentary question S3W-20310 on 5 February 2009. Due to the high demand for this fund from across the country, the expert group and the Shared Services/Leadership Boards had to ensure that applications met all the requirements set out in the criteria. One of the criteria is that the council has prudential borrowing or the capacity to use other sources of funding to fund the investment. The existing level of debt associated with Shetland Island Council’s housing revenue account is already very high, the council has the highest debt per unit of all councils in Scotland. Whilst Shetland’s proposed borrowing is from an internal source, it will still incur interest. Therefore, the fact that the borrowing will incur interest and will still need to be repaid meant that increasing the level of debt presented too high a risk to the sustainability of the housing revenue account.

Housing

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons Moray Council’s round one bid for new-build council home funding was unsuccessful.

Alex Neil: Moray Council received £1.2 million subsidy from round one of the incentivising council house building fund to help build 48 new houses. In round two, Moray applied for £1.125 million to help build 45 new houses.

  In round two, an expert group comprising COSLA, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO), a local government finance officer and the Scottish Government considered all applications against the agreed principles and criteria. The group provided an initial assessment of applications and their recommendations were shared and then discussed with COSLA’s Leadership Board. The board considered this advice and then formed an agreed position and recommendations which were considered by ministers before making a final decision.

  Applications were assessed against criteria relating to six overarching principles, as Parliament was informed in response to parliamentary question S3W-20310 on 5 February 2009. A key principle in assessing proposals was deliverability, requiring evidence that the development would be on site within a year of funding allocations, including identified sites and the number of units to be built. Unfortunately, Moray Council’s ongoing tendering exercise with developers meant that evidence was not available. Given the high level of demand for the available funding, it was considered that it would be more appropriate to allocate subsidy to applications which had the required site details and that Moray Council’s application should not receive support at this time.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to issue fresh guidance to local authorities on housing allocations.

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to issue examples of best practice in housing allocation to local authorities.

Alex Neil: We are currently in the process of developing the new practical guide to social housing allocations and gathering practice examples for inclusion in the guide. We anticipate publishing the guide for consultation in spring this year.

Influenza

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements have been put in place to ensure the delivery of the influenza A (H1N1) vaccination programme in each NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government Health Directorate (SGHD) and Health Protection Scotland (HPS) have worked closely with NHS boards on planning for local service delivery on a national level, and the SGHD and HPS continue to have frequent engagement with NHS boards to monitor the progress of the vaccination programme.

  The second phase of the vaccination programme has now commenced and is offering vaccination to children over six months and under five years. It is expected that this will be completed by the end of January with some mop up activity into mid-February.

Influenza

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake is of the influenza A (H1N1) vaccine, broken down by at-risk category.

Nicola Sturgeon: The estimated uptake rate so far for people under 65 years in a clinical at-risk group is 48.3%, among individuals aged 65 years and over in a clinical at-risk group the figure is 42.3% and among pregnant women it is 45.0%. Overall, this equates to 45.6% for the whole clinical at-risk group.

  To date, an estimated 50.8% of eligible frontline health care staff have received the vaccination, and 32.1% of eligible frontline social care staff have been vaccinated.

  Data is not held in GP systems on the number of individuals who are a household contact of an immunocompromised individual and therefore there is no reliable denominator for this population to determine uptake rates at a national level.

Influenza

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake is of the influenza A (H1N1) vaccine, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Reporting mechanisms for uptake of the H1N1 vaccine are not yet consistent across all health boards, therefore accurate and comparable figures will not be available until the end of the vaccination programme. Overall, the vaccine uptake rate for all health boards across Scotland is 45.6% for the whole clinical at-risk group.

Influenza

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will define those conditions referred to as underlying health conditions when considering cases of mortality from influenza A (H1N1).

Nicola Sturgeon: An analysis of the underlying health conditions suffered by people who have died from influenza A (H1N1) is reported and published weekly by Health Protection Scotland in their weekly situation report.

  The total number of deaths in Scotland, as of midday 6 January, is 62. Of the 60 cases who died in hospital, at least 72% (43/60) were known to have underlying medical conditions including: diabetes (six), a respiratory condition (12), obesity (seven), renal/liver conditions (11), congenital abnormalities (nine), immunosuppression (seven), pregnancy (three) and a malignant illness (five). In some cases, there were multiple conditions present.

Justice

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the impact on the perception of the independence of the Lanarkshire Valuation Appeal Committee of the fact that the council tax banding appeals process takes place in the assessor’s office at Cadzow Street in Hamilton.

John Swinney: In its recent report on Valuation Appeal Committees in Scotland, the Scottish Committee of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council recommends, among other things, that Valuation Appeal Committees use venues which are independent of local authorities. The Scottish Government endorses this recommendation.

Justice

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the fact that people wishing to contest the fairness of a decision on their council tax banding by the Valuation Appeal Committee must do so via the Court of Session and at a cost.

John Swinney: An appeal to the Court of Session on the decision of a Valuation Appeal Committee may only be made on a point of law and not on the fairness of that decision. Individuals considering bringing a case to the Court of Session may be eligible for legal aid through the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

Justice

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether individuals seeking to appeal a decision taken by the Valuation Appeal Committee may do so via a class action, thus minimising the cost incurred by each person.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government is not aware of valuation appeals being progressed in the form of a class action, and it would seem only to be rarely that such an approach might be considered given that appeal is on a point of law only. Ministers are currently considering the recommendation in the Scottish Civil Courts Review, carried out by Lord Gill, the Lord Justice Clerk, that there should be a form of special multi-party court procedure in Scotland.

  Individuals seeking to appeal to the Court of Session may be eligible for legal aid through the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

Ministerial Engagements

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what occasions (a) ministers and (b) special advisors to ministers have had (i) lunch and (ii) dinner with Campbell Gunn of the Sunday Post since May 2007.

John Swinney: No cabinet secretaries, ministers or special advisers have had a lunch or dinner specifically with Mr Campbell Gunn of the Sunday Post . Special advisers have shared a lunch table in the Scottish Parliament canteen with Mr Gunn, alongside other respected journalists.

NHS Expenditure

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is to (a) the health budget and (b) each NHS board’s budget of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s decision to increase employers’ national insurance contributions from 2011.

Nicola Sturgeon: The estimated annual cost to the health budget of the 1% increase in employers’ national insurance contributions from 1 April 2011 is £36.3 million. Details of the estimated costs to each NHS board’s budget are as follows:

  

 
 Estimated Additional Cost (£m)


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 2.1


 NHS Borders
 0.7


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 0.9


 NHS Fife
 1.8


 NHS Forth Valley
 1.4


 NHS Grampian
 3.2


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 9.2


 NHS Highland
 1.8


 NHS Lanarkshire
 2.6


 NHS Lothian
 6.0


 NHS Orkney
 0.1


 NHS Shetland
 0.1


 NHS Tayside
 2.9


 NHS Western Isles
 0.2


 NHS 24
 0.3


 NHS Education for Scotland
 0.1


 NHS Health Scotland
 0.1


 NHS National Services Scotland
 0.9


 NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
 0.1


 National Waiting Times Centre
 0.3


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 1.3


 The State Hospitals Board for Scotland
 0.2

NHS Finance

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) revenue and (b) capital resource outturn has been for NHS Tayside in each year since 2001, also expressed in real terms and showing the percentage change.

Nicola Sturgeon: The revenue outturn and percentage change of NHS Tayside since 2001, expressed in absolute and real terms has been:

  

 
 
 Real Terms


Revenue Outturn (£000)
 % Change
Revenue Outturn (£000)
 % Change


 2001-02
 419,287
 
 506,000
 


 2002-03
 438,846
 4.7%
 513,054
 1.4%


 2003-04
 468,457
 6.7%
 532,658
 3.8%


 2004-05
 543,669
 16.1%
 601,457
 12.9%


 2005-06
 576,009
 5.9%
 625,560
 4.0%


 2006-07
 599,490
 4.1%
 632,353
 1.1%


 2007-08
 633,061
 5.6%
 649,034
 2.6%


 2008-09
 655,804
 3.6%
 655,804
 1.0%



  The capital outturn and percentage change of NHS Tayside since 2001, expressed in absolute and real terms has been:

  

 
 
 Real Terms


Capital Outturn (£000)
 % Change
Capital Outturn (£000)
 % Change


 2001-02
 6,699
 
 8,084
 


 2002-03
 6,845
 2.2%
 8,002
 -1.0%


 2003-04
 4,472
 -34.7%
 5,085
 -36.5%


 2004-05
 7,689
 71.9%
 8,506
 67.3%


 2005-06
 11,689
 52.0%
 12,695
 49.2%


 2006-07
 17,342
 48.4%
 18,293
 44.1%


 2007-08
 42,520
 145.2%
 43,593
 138.3%


 2008-09
 33,320
 -21.6%
 33,320
 -23.6%

NHS Hospitals

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28836 by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 November 2009, what the average waiting time was at each accident and emergency department in NHS (a) Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (b) Ayrshire and Arran in each year since 1999.

Nicola Sturgeon: The national waiting time target for accident and emergency (A&E) department is that 98% of patients wait no longer than four hours between arrival at A&E and admission, discharge or transfer. NHSScotland have consistently delivered this target since it was introduced at the end of December 2007.

  The median waiting times from arrival to departure for each A&E department in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Ayrshire and Arran from 1999 to 2008-09 are provided in the following tables.

  Prior to 2007, A&E waiting times was collected through an annual census covering three or seven days period in April. The census between 1999 to 2005 only covers the core A&E hospitals. In 2006, the survey was expanded to cover A&E departments, including minor injury units. Only information for core sites have been provided in table A. Information has also been included showing the average daily attendance and the percentage change in attendance from 1999.

  Since 2007, detailed data has been collected at all large hospitals containing an A&E department (core sites). Smaller hospitals and minor injury units do not generally collect data at this level and are therefore not included in table B. Information has also been included showing the average daily attendance and the percentage change in attendance since 2007. Due to the nature of the different methods of data collection, the median waiting time information in tables A and B are not directly comparable.

  Table A: NHSScotland Median Waiting Times in A&E 1996-2006

  

 A&E Department
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006


 Length of survey (days)
 7
 7
 7
 7
 3
 3
 7
 7


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran


 Ayr Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
88116x
82124+7
8093-20
10380-31
77103-11
10871-39
109113-3
121120+4


 Crosshouse Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
......
82111x
89126+14
96167+50
63143+29
107182+64
102161+45
88166+50


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde


 Glasgow Royal Infirmary


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
100188x
86178-5
101172-9
136208+10
120150-20
150160-15
130160-15
155190+1


 Inverclyde Royal Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
5387x
7082-6
69103+18
8598+12
7984-4
13588-
7593+6
10388+1


 Royal Alexandra Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
74130x
70137+5
88140+7
100138+6
101118-9
101127-2
87130-
157196+51


 Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill)


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
10793x
131109+17
12097+4
10595+2
9394+1
93105+13
91107+15
8097+4


 Southern General Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
85118x
92128+8
120151+28
99128+9
135180+53
127138+17
118139+18
95134+14


 Stobhill Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
90140x
90141+1
100149+6
100137-2
78130-7
98141+1
110125-11
95130-7


 Vale of Leven


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
6154x
5651-6
7466+22
7262+15
7855+2
4720-62
7040-26
7150-8


 Victoria Infirmary


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
33181x
48186+3
48222+23
56199+10
54173-5
73207+15
6286-53
67193+7


 Western Infirmary /Gartnavel Hospitals


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 1999 (%)
67116x
78113-2
96124+6
105122+5
12096-17
130125+7
14586-26
160153+31



  Notes:

  x - not applicable.

  .. - not available.

  Table B: NHSScotland Median Waiting Time in A&E for July 2007 to 31 March 2008 and 2008-09

  

 A&E Department
 2007-08*
 2008-09


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran


 Ayr Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
103111x
109115+4


 Crosshouse Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
72175x
86177+1


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde


 Glasgow Royal Infirmary


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
121201x
122206+2


 Inverclyde Royal Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
8784x
8888+5


 Royal Alexandra Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
101181x
100189+4


 Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill)


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
76108x
74116+7


 Southern General Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
112129x
112134+4


 Stobhill Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
101111x
97115+4


 Vale of Leven Hospital


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
8340x
8541+3


 Victoria Infirmary


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
71184x
75185+1


 Western Infirmary /Gartnavel Hospitals


Median Waits (mins) Average daily attendance Change in attendance from 2007-08 (%)
124164x
121169+3



  Source: ISD Scotland.

NHS Staff

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS consultants received an availability supplement for high frequency at (a) level one and (b) level two in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by seniority point.

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS consultants received an availability supplement for medium frequency at (a) level one and (b) level two in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by seniority point.

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS consultants received an availability supplement for low frequency at (a) level one and (b) level two in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by seniority point.

Nicola Sturgeon: Whilst the Scottish Government has access to workforce statistics published by ISD at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5899.html , the information requested is not centrally held. However, it may be possible to obtain information from payroll managers at individual health boards should you wish to approach them.

Parliamentary Questions

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to parliamentary question S3W-28913, which received a holding reply on 26 November 2009.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28913 on 8 January 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Regeneration

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29209 by Alex Neil on 8 December 2009, when it will provide the information that it undertook to provide in that answer.

Alex Neil: The information requested in question S3W-29209 was provided to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49810) on 21 December 2009 and released by them on 23 December 2009.

Regeneration

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29208 by Alex Neil on 8 December 2009, when it will provide the information that it undertook to provide in that answer.

Alex Neil: The information requested in question S3W-29208 was provided to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49810) on 21 December 2009 and released by them on 23 December 2009.

Scottish Government Staff

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive by which method of transport the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Executive has travelled to London for weekly meetings on each occasion in 2009.

John Swinney: The Permanent Secretary attends weekly meetings in London as part of the leadership team of the UK Civil Service. A range of other meetings related to these responsibilities (including Permanent Secretary Sub-Group on Employee Relations, Permanent Secretaries’ Management Group, Learning Skills Board, Skills Strategy Delivery Board, Government Skills and Senior Leadership Committee) and Scottish Government business are scheduled around this weekly meeting.

  During 2009, the Permanent Secretary travelled to London for his regular weekly meeting on 35 occasions. This involved return air travel on 30 occasions and a mix of train and air travel outward and return on the other five.

  Air travel allows a full day’s business to be conducted without the need for an overnight stay.

Sectarianism

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set up or second a specialised unit to work on its sectarianism strategy.

Fergus Ewing: This government takes a co-ordinated partnership approach to tackling sectarianism as part of our broader work on tackling all forms of religious intolerance and racism. Officials from a number of Directorates work on this important issue along with a range of partner bodies. We believe this is a much more effective way of tackling these serious problems rather than setting up a separate unit, which we have no current plans to do, although we do keep such matters under review.

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29200 on 4 December 2009, which provides a breakdown of the four teams who are delivering key elements of the anti-sectarianism agenda in partnership with organisations across Scotland. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Student Finance

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what different (a) sources and (b) levels of financial support are available to (i) part-time further education, (ii) part-time higher education, (iii) full-time further education and (iv) full-time higher education students.

Michael Russell: The different sources and levels of financial support available to (i) part-time further education, (ii) part-time higher education, (iii) full-time further education and (iv) full-time higher education students for academic year 2009-10 is publicly available and can be found on the following websites -

  Scottish Funding Council website:

  http://www.sfc.ac.uk/funding/colleges/collegefundingstreams/student_support/bursary_support_2009_10.aspx.

  Student Awards Agency for Scotland website:

  http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/scottish_inside/2001_or_later/financial_support.htm.

  The Scottish Government website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Funding-Support-Grants/FFL/yourguidetofunding0910.

Student Finance

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what different (a) sources and (b) levels of financial support are available to (i) postgraduate taught and (ii) postgraduate research students.

Michael Russell: The different sources and levels of financial support, for academic year 2009-10, available to postgraduate taught students is publicly available and can be found on both the Student Awards Agency for Scotland website:

  http://www.student-support-saas.gov.uk/student_support/special_circumstances/postgrad_support.htm.

  and the Scottish Government website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Funding-Support-Grants/FFL/yourguidetofunding0910pdf.

  The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) allocates the research postgraduate grant to all Scottish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). SFC has allocated £27.9 million formulaically and has provided a contribution of £1.5 million for research postgraduate studentships in academic year 2009-10.

  http://www.sfc.ac.uk/funding/universities/funding_streams/generalfund/research_funding/funding_research.aspx.

  Apart from a funded place at a HEI, the other sources of funding available to a research postgraduate student are a studentship from one of the seven research councils, a studentship from a charity or a professional loan from a high street bank. The level of financial support varies. In academic year 2009-10, the minimum tax free stipend offered by the research councils was £13,290.